2 tribals charred to death as road blockade turns violent
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 26 May 2011 11:18 IST
Two tribal youth were charred to death while the agitation by tribals in Goa for various demands including implementation of reservations in the government jobs turned violent yesterday.
The crime was committed by the local youth of Balli, a central market at Balli where the tribals from the forest area had blocked the National Highway 17 as well as the Konkan railway route.
The day-long protest by the tribals prompted the locals to retaliate by attacking the protesting tribals. The incident took place late evening after the protestors were dispersed.
The two tribal youth leaders were charred to death as the locals burnt down a building in which the leaders were hiding.
Over six thousand tribals, led by United Tribals Association Alliance (UTTA), blocked the National Highway 17 as well as the Konkan Railway route at Balli, on the way from Margao to Canacona since morning yesterday.
Road was also blocked in Canacona by the local tribals.
As a result, the Goa-Karnataka route via Karwar was blocked completely while several rail services along the Konkan railway route were stranded at different stations.
The action that started since yesterday morning compelled the authorities, including tribal welfare minister Philip Neri Rodrigues and chief secretary Sanjay Srivastav to rush to the spot and reach an amicable settlement.
The only demand they could not meet was reservation in the Assembly as it falls in the jurisdiction of the central authorities.
Interestingly, the mob turned violent while clearing the road after meeting the demands when the police started a lathicharge.
The irate mob then started pelting stones at the police. They even burnt down few police vehicles and a KTC bus.
The locals from Balli, who were silent spectators since morning, got themselves mobilized and started beating up the tribal protestors, who came to the small central market of Balli from the forest areas.
The locals, in the presence of the police, beat up even BJP MLA Ramesh Tawadkar and several others while also burning down their vehicles.
The height of it was burning down a building of a cashew factory and office of the Adarsh Co-operative Credit Society, managed by tribals’ leader and ex-MLA Prakash Velip.
The building was locked from outside by the local villagers while at least five tribal leaders were hiding inside the building.
Three of them were later rescued by the fire brigade, but two of them were burnt to death. Their bodies were recovered early morning today.
Goa has always been known for the peaceful co-existence of people of various walks of life, religious beleifs or caste have never been a cause of conflict let alone violence.
This incident is very unfortunate and maybe the start to a dark chapter in Goa's history, Goa's social fabric is being manipulated by those looking to benifit at the cost of peace and harmony.
The people need to awaken to this political puppet show and need to stamp out elements that are causing divides in our society.
A dangerous trend has started in peaceful Goa too----The vote bank politics has flourished on dividing the society on cast basis-- for getting free doles---We call this reservations---A shameful thing to keep going even after 64 years of independence.The only criterion for reservations should have been the financial status of the incumbent and not the caste----
The dangerous game has been started and reults are there for everybody to see----Fights in different communities and castes---the extent going upto murders and burning down the assets of this poor country and causing untold hardships to the masses.....Why is this dirty game started...??? Will it end only with riots and destructions...????
Have our Goan brothers gone insane? how could they set fire to a place when they knew there were human beings inside?
Anger has a limit, if it goes to merciless killings of innocents deliberately it is worse than murder.
I call it vile mob ethics,
You call them Tribals whom you killed, then, Who ARE You?
Conflicts and Social Divisions & uprisings
This is one major reason why the Portuguese & British and to some extent the French & Dutch were able to take control of Goa and India.
Many nutcases in Goa,like Naguesh KArmali and Uday Bhembre interpret Goan History differently.
They forget to mention the divisions and internal wars that took place.
They only mention religious conversions.How convinient in the 21st Century.
If Indians did not fight amongst themselves,then history books will have been written differently.
I doubt conversion took place first and then quelling of internal wars.I think it is logiocally ,the other way around.